MC administration enforce new safety rules on campus Photo Credit | Jenna Nicolas
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MC new campus safety rules

With school safety being brought into national limelight, MC administration, has taken precautions  towards stronger campus safety.

On March 14, the MC administration released a statement regarding new campus safety rules.

The gate across BMMS and Oviedo
will be closed during the day
Photo Credit | Jenna Nicolas

The bulletin read: “First, the stairway along Carmel Mountain Road will be closed in the morning.  We will ask students to come on to campus through one of the main two gates after being dropped off.”

Although an inconvenience for many students, these changes aim to remove several access points where security personnel are not available to patrol the entrances.

“We went ahead and tried to make it an egress and ingress with

one way only [that way] we have better visual of everybody that’s coming in and out,” Assistant Principal Sara Ramirez said.

In addition to the closure of the stairway along Carmel Mountain Road, the gate at the back of the campus alongside Oviedo Road and the access road to Black Mountain Middle School are also being monitored.

The stairway along Carmel Mountain Road will
be closed due to campus safety precautions
Photo Credit | Jenna Nicolas

“The gate from Oviedo to the back of the campus will be closed after the start of the school day.  This includes the gate towards BMMS and also coming down from the varsity baseball field. The BMMS gate will be opened at the end of the school day,” the bulletin said.

Administration will continue to be present and vigilant near the gates in the morning and after school.

“One of the biggest things that we do that I think works out a lot is that we are always outside in the morning when [students] come in [and] in the afternoon when [students] leave. We are pretty good at monitoring the parking lot, who has access to us and who doesn’t,” Ramirez said.

The ability to recognize students’ faces and approved personnel is crucial to the role Ramirez and the administration have.

“We can tell when students have graduated or not are on the premises. We are pretty good at knowing where kids are and what they are doing,” Ramirez said.

As MC has taken their own precautions concerning school safety, Poway Unified School District is considering taking further action.

Main gate entrance to MC
Photo Credit | Jenna Nicolas

“When it comes to the district I know they are looking at replacing the push-bar gates,” Ramirez said.

The replacement of the standard push-bar gates, in which the only way to open the door is to push the bar that releases the lock,  at MC is unsure of at this time.

After the recent school shooting in Parkland, FL, the subject of school safety a large priority or concern for parents. As parents and students become concerned, administration has taken matters into their own hands to protect students in school.

Written by Jana Ariss

Jana is a Senior at MC and the Co-Editor in Chief of The MC Sun.

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